Tastes like home.
I am a bit of a purist about pavlova. As it is one of Australia’s classic dishes, I feel it should be made with something exotic like passionfruit… but i’ve made it suitable for winter by using hazelnuts and frozen berries.
Rick Stein says…
In the bleak midwinter/Frosty wind made moan/Earth stood hard as iron/Water like a stone. That is my sister Henrietta’s favourite carol, from ‘In the Bleak Midwinter’ by Christina Rossetti, and indeed it was my mother’s, too. Winter in the Cotswolds in the 50s and 60s always saw hard frosts and often snow on snow, but my memories of childhood Christmases there are some of my fondest. I think it is because my mum and dad really loved Christmas, and each other.
Nothing can replace the wonder of our Christmas tree because we had real candles. They were only lit for maybe half an hour, but the point was that my sister and I, the youngest, weren’t allowed to see the tree decorated until the door at the bottom of the stairs was opened. We came into what we called the Big Hall, which had a wide log fire and large windows looking out over the hills, and there was the tree alight with candles. That, with the smell of wood smoke and candles, is Christmas for me; that and the parties we had on Boxing Day.
But I also want to share my wife Sas’s Australian take on Christmas. Set as it is in early summer, an Aussie Christmas has none of the tinge of the dark end of the year to it. It’s enjoyment and optimism, a valuable antidote to my over-thinking.
I am a bit of a purist about pavlova. As it is one of Australia’s classic dishes, I feel it should be made with something exotic like passionfruit, but when Andrew Sullivan, the pastry chef at The Seafood Restaurant, made these I was very taken with them. I asked Andrew to send me the recipe, which was for about 50 portions of a lovely seasonal dish using cobnuts and damsons. I have cut it back to a more manageable eight servings and made it suitable for winter by using hazelnuts and frozen berries. Thanks, Andrew.
Ingredients
Serves 8
Meringues
4 medium egg whites
220g caster sugar
2 teaspoons cornflour
½ teaspoon white wine vinegar
Berry sauce
500g frozen Black Forest berry mix (eg cherries, blueberries, blackberries, blackcurrants and redcurrants), defrosted
2–3 tablespoons icing sugar
To serve
75g blanched hazelnuts
150g white chocolate
500ml double cream
Fresh raspberries or blueberries
Method
Preheat the oven to 100°C fan-forced. Line 2 baking sheets with baking paper.
In a clean, grease-free bowl, whisk the egg whites until they form soft peaks. Gradually whisk in the caster sugar, cornflour and vinegar, and continue to whisk until the mixture is thick and glossy and the beaters leave a thick ribbon trail in the mixture.
Spoon the meringue mixture onto the sheets to form 8 round nests about 10cm in diameter. Place in the oven for about 1½ hours or until the meringues are crisp and dried out. Leave them in the switched-off oven to cool completely.
For the berry sauce, blitz the fruit and sugar in a food processor, then pass it through a sieve. Store in the fridge until ready to use. It will be fine for up to 2 days if you want to prepare ahead.
Add the nuts to a hot dry pan and toast for a minute or so until they’ve taken on a little colour. Watch them carefully so they don’t burn. Chop the nuts and set them aside in a bowl. Melt the chocolate in a bowl over a pan of simmering water.
When the meringues are completely cool, dip each one into the melted white chocolate and then into the bowl of chopped nuts. Set aside to cool on a wire rack.
Whip the cream until it holds its shape. Spoon a tablespoon of berry sauce on to each plate and top with a teaspoon of the cream, then place a meringue, nut side up, on top.
Spoon some cream onto each meringue and use a clean measuring spoon to scoop a hollow in each dollop of cream. (Dip the spoon in water between each plate to get a clean scoop.)
Spoon a little berry sauce into the hollow and top with a fresh berry and a few more nuts. Serve immediately.
RICK STEIN’S CHRISTMAS, PUBLISHED BY BBC BOOKS, IS OUT NOW.
Published in ed#751
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